Lord Cormack: My Lords, we are all indebted to my noble friend Lady Anelay, not only for securing this debate but for the manner in which she introduced it.
Like the noble Baroness, Lady Jay, two of my grandchildren were born in Hong Kong. I had the honour of leading the last British parliamentary delegation to Hong Kong before the handover. I feel that it is cynical of the Chinese Communist Party to be taking advantage of the pandemic—for which it bears some considerable blame—to flex its despotic muscles in Hong Kong.
While I endorse the Prime Minister’s robust response, and as much as I deplore the unfortunate response of HSBC and the Standard Chartered bank, I urge Her Majesty’s Government to do all they can to create a democratic alliance within the United Nations to put pressure on any nation which is inclined to destroy the rule of law by aggregating international treaties which they have willingly, and indeed in this case enthusiastically, entered into.